Currently, a number of prior art clamping devices are sold in the marketplace which are used for purposes of maintaining bags containing chips, pretzels and similar snack food items in a closed state after such food containment bags have been opened and only a portion of the contents consumed. One such prior art clamping device which is widely marketed under the trademark "CHIP CLIP" comprises a pair of jaw members which include handle portions formed thereon and are operatively connected to each other via a torsion wire spring. The spring biases the jaw members into abutting contact with each other, thus maintaining the bag in a closed state when the open end thereof is inserted between the jaw members. The compression of the handle portions of the jaw members toward one another overcomes the biasing force exerted by the spring, thus separating the jaw members and allowing the bag to be inserted or removed from therebetween.
Though this particular clamping device and others which are similarly structured are generally suitable for maintaining bags in a closed state, such devices possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility. In this respect, the torsion wire spring typically incorporated into these prior art devices loses resiliency over time, thus allowing the device to be easily dislodged from the open end of the bag due to a decrease in the biasing force exerted by the spring. This loss of spring resiliency is accelerated when the jaw members are maintained in an open position for prolonged periods. Additionally, the materials used to fabricate the jaw members of the clamping device are prone to fatigue, and typically crack or completely rupture after repeated uses of the device. Further, due to the fabrication of these prior art clamping devices with independent jaw members interconnected by a separate torsion wire spring, the spring is oftentimes dislodged or disconnected from one or both of the jaw members, thus rendering the device unusable. Finally, since these prior art clamping devices incorporate only a single biasing member or spring, the biasing force exerted by the jaw members on the open end of the bag is limited, thus not ensuring that the bag is maintained in a tightly closed state. The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies associated with prior art bag clamping devices by providing a bag clip incorporating a pair of biasing spring portions for added resiliency over prolonged periods of time.